Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENT) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

Posted by Brian Himes on Jun 13th, 2026

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENT – Free Report) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report report published on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on CENT. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Central Garden & Pet in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on Central Garden & Pet from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $54.00.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on Central Garden & Pet

Central Garden & Pet Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ CENT opened at $42.85 on Thursday. Central Garden & Pet has a 12 month low of $28.77 and a 12 month high of $43.17. The company has a market cap of $2.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.58 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a quick ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 3.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $38.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $36.12.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENT – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.21. Central Garden & Pet had a return on equity of 11.55% and a net margin of 5.42%.The business had revenue of $906.15 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $846.58 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.04 earnings per share. Central Garden & Pet’s revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Central Garden & Pet has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.700- EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Central Garden & Pet will post 2.89 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Central Garden & Pet

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in Central Garden & Pet by 632.3% in the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 974 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 841 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Central Garden & Pet in the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in Central Garden & Pet by 1,532.7% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,845 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,000 after acquiring an additional 1,732 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in Central Garden & Pet by 152.3% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,920 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,000 after acquiring an additional 1,159 shares in the last quarter. Finally, iSAM Funds UK Ltd purchased a new stake in Central Garden & Pet in the 3rd quarter worth about $94,000. 16.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Central Garden & Pet Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ: CENT) is a leading North American specialty retailer, manufacturer and distributor serving the lawn and garden and pet supplies markets. The company operates through two primary segments: Pet and Garden. In the Pet segment, Central Garden & Pet offers a comprehensive range of products including pet food, treats, accessories, training products and habitat solutions for dogs, cats, birds, fish and small animals. The Garden segment encompasses a wide array of lawn, garden and outdoor living products, such as soils, fertilizers, planters, pest control solutions, landscape lighting and watering equipment.

Central Garden & Pet’s product portfolio includes both proprietary and branded offerings.